Dozens gathered in Tempe for a "Skywarn" weather-spotting training held by the National Weather Service on March 30, 2019.(Photo: Nathan J. Fish/The Republic)

Dozens gathered in Tempe for a "Skywarn" weather-spotting training held by the National Weather Service on Saturday.

More than 30 volunteers attended the training session conducted by Austin Jamison, a National Weather Service meteorologist and forecaster, at Tempe Public Library.

"The Skywarn storm-spotter program is about a partnership between the National Weather Service and the general public," Jamison said. "It turns out that the general public can help us fill in knowledge gaps, information gaps that the technology of satellites and radar and so forth can't fully address."

National Weather Service personnel conduct free Skywarn spotter-training classes at locations around the Phoenix area that teach people how to properly identify and report significant weather phenomena and contribute to public safety.

Dozens gathered in Tempe for a "Skywarn" weather-spotting training held by the National Weather Service on March 30, 2019.(Photo: Nathan J. Fish/The Republic)

The training classes prepare volunteer spotters to identify the development stages of severe thunderstorms, as well as downbursts, desert flash flooding and tornadoes.

"We need folks to have the trained eye, and this training class — the two-hour, free training class — is what provides them that trained eye," Jamison said.

According to Jamison, Skywarn became a national program in the late 1960s, but its roots trace back to the early 1950s with local civilian groups in tornado alley who would have people on the lookout for extreme weather and would report updates by amateur radio.

A dust storm engulfs a neighborhood on the Salt River Reservation. Winds caused outages that left about 10,000 customers of Salt River Project and Arizona Public Service Co. without electricity at the storm's peak. In Pinal County, officials reported cars pulled off the road due to zero visibility. Michael Chow/The Republic

A dust devil rolls through the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation. Dust devils form when a pocket of hot air from the ground rises quickly through cooler air above it, forming an updraft. Michael Chow/The Republic

A haboob blows in over a horse on the Salt River Indian Reservation July 21, 2012. The wall of dust is a result of air pushed forward by the front of a thunderstorm cell, dragging dust and debris with it, as it travels across the terrain. Michael Chow/The Republic

Brian Tompson, a volunteer who participated in Saturday's training, said he decided to return to become a weather spotter because of his fascination with the weather.

"I'm a ham-radio operator, and I used to be a weather spotter a long time ago, so I thought I'd take it back up," Tompson said. "I've always been fascinated by weather. I like to take pictures of the weather and clouds."

Tompson said he thought it was time to jump back in and get involved in weather spotting after hearing about the Skywarn training.

"It was a good refresher about storms and clouds and what's criteria for reporting," Tompson said. "I'll start to keep my eye out for weather and report it."

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Dozens gathered in Tempe for a "Skywarn" weather-spotting training held by the National Weather Service.
Nathan J. Fish, The Republic | azcentral.com